WHAT: You may have seen this sweet native wildflower, coast trillium, when hiking in Northwest forests, where it pops up intermittently.
It produces white flowers with three overlapping petals with green sepals peeking out from beneath.
Its flowers turn pink, then red as they age. Below the flowers are three to five whorled green leaves almost triangular in outline.
WHY PLANT IT: These local gems, also known as trillium ovatum, are easy to grow if given the right conditions.
WHERE: All trilliums require fertile, rich, well-drained soil. In the right conditions, this trillium is fairly drought tolerant, but it will do better with regular additional water during summer dry spells.
HOW: They grow best in part sun, ideally in a spot with morning sun and afternoon shade, or the semi shade beneath deciduous trees or tall conifers.
They will not spread or flower well in too much shade, and the hot afternoon sun will burn their foliage.
Fertilize young plants regularly with an all-purpose organic fertilizer or fish fertilizer.
Gardening with trilliums teaches the rewards of patience: Young plants can take three to five years to bloom and another five to eight years to develop into a nice clump.
Do not remove old flowers, but let the seeds develop. Ants will disperse them around your garden to start new clumps.
ACTUAL SIZE: Coast trillium grows 18 to 20 inches tall. Over a 10-year period, it can become a patch up to 15 inches wide. Trilliums are poor competitors, so be careful not to plant aggressive plants nearby.
LEARN MORE: See www.greatplantpicks.org.
Source: Great Plant Picks
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